THUNDERBOLT on New IMAC i7s

[kicap]

For me I have been doing my search myself and nothing (for the price) beats APPLE CINEMA monitor. But please, please, and please prove me WRONG!!!

 

[abeas]

Hey guys,

1. Would a Mac Pro with these spects handle 4:2:2 Pro Res footage well, or will I run into some of the same problem with rendering I run into with my IMAC 2.8 GHz 27".

Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core (8 Core) Intel Xeon
6GB (2x2GB) + (2x1GB)
320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
ATI Radeon 2600 XT 256 MB Graphics
Two 16x SuperDrives
AirPort Extreme Card (Wi-Fi)
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
Mac OS X Snow Leopard/iLife'11 Pre-installed.

2. Also what graphic card would go best for 4:2:2 footage.

3. I was looking for a great monitor that would do the same or better than the APPLE CINEMA for less.

That's the same machine I have (2008 model) and mine runs fine. ProRes is an I-frame codec, so it is not processor intensive. In regards to the graphics card, you need to realize FCP does not touch the GPU. The only time I can think of it using it is when you import files from Motion, or use any of the Motion templates in FCP. Also, 6 GB of RAM is fine as FCP doesn't use any more than 2.5GB.

 

[Calomile]

Although with the FCP announcement looming (scheduled for 6pm EST today) all of that could change and we might see more of a shift towards utilising the GPU better. If the rumours of a ground up rewrite are true, I would certainly expect that to be the case.

 

[8string]

If they are bringing out an all new FCP, they likely would announce new Mac Pros' to go with them. I would wager that video production is the largest segment for the MacPro. They need a refresh given the Thunderbolt capability. I'd wager that's going to be part of it. I for one would not buy a new computer, Mac or Windows, without Thunderbolt, as I assume they all will have them by fall. Got to wonder whether USB 3.0 is a dead end.